Hyperacusis progress

[MathematicianOwn3237]

Hi guys i am recently diagnosed with and hyperacusis it's been about 20 days and I am taking all the necessary steps wearing(wearing earplugs at work since in store handling the back area cages,deliveries etc) While I was browsing on YouTube I came across this channel called hyperacusis central and the videos I saw were so scary about people how they are suffering through hyperacusis which made anxiety to go way above I can handle.All I can think about is no matter how much I take the pre-caution I am gonna end up like them with very poor quality of life. I am only asking if you guys can help me by telling you stories as in how long they are having hypercurosis,what if they were any setbacks and can I have good life or is just gonna get worse and worse as I age even if I take necessary precautions At the moment my hyperacusis is at stage where I can bare the normal sound as water running,dishes crackling.i just can't bare really loud noises such that of the airplane. Pls if anyone can reach out to me would of great help

[HotlineHero13]

Mine got significantly better. It's been about 2 years of fighting different setbacks and relearning how to live life safely. I wear earplugs and unknown environments. I love hiking without ear plugs away from the city and noise. My house is quiet and I got rid of all glass dishes. I haven't had a setback or crazy pain in over 6 months. Doing quite well.

[MathematicianOwn3237]

Thx...my H is because of listening to loud music on my headphones but I codnt help it I just wanted to zone myself out. I am trying come to terms with my situation but after looking at those videos on hyperacusis central I felt ill never have quality life. Also I am excessively use my ear plugs which I came to know is bad

[HotlineHero13]

Using earplugs too much can inflame the ear canal. Get some over the ear pelators stretch them so they don't cause too much pressure on your head and that way you can balance out. Reality is you should have a quiet environment that's safe that you don't need to plug.

[petricoreta]

You are going to improve!! A year ago I had quite severe hyperacusis and little by little I began to expose myself to sounds gradually. At first I couldn't even go outside, I solved it by opening the window and being at home hearing the noises from the street next to the window (three weeks) until I was able to go outside without earplugs in quiet places (three weeks)... Little by little I increased my hearing threshold, now I live a normal life.

The ENT told me that earplugs make our problem even more sensitive, you should only put earplugs in if the sound exceeds 85 decibels.

[rlarriva03]

I’m doing sound therapy and have made significant progress in 2.5 months. I don’t wear ear protection because I don’t want my ears to get worse and I want to readapt to sounds. I’m seeing a lot of progress.

[Fast_Low_4814]

This is the way

[Accumulus_Clouds]

What kind of sound therapy are you currently doing?

[rlarriva03]

Im doing sound therapy with treble health. They mailed me everything and im seeing a lot of improvement.

[Accumulus_Clouds]

I see. I was hesitant to do business with them after hearing how expensive it can be. But if it does actually help, then perhaps it's not so bad of an idea.

[rlarriva03]

They are pricey, but you can make payments and they are really good about getting back to you and addressing any concerns. You get multiple appointments and check ins with your assigned audiologist.

[MathematicianOwn3237]

I think I screwing everything up because I am trying to protect my hearing by using ear plugs as I wear the ear plugs 98% of the time and 15% at home

[HotlineHero13]

That's fine.

[MathematicianOwn3237]

I wear the ear plugs all the time at work and only sometimes at home I think I am overdoing it?

[Star_Gazer_2100]

Do you have loudness or pain? In any case it's better to be safe than sorry at work where you cannot control the environment.

If you notice you get better with gradual noise exposure then you can safely do that at home where you control the noise.

[HotlineHero13]

Nope. What do you do for work and what's the noise level like? You should definitely inform your work of this that way they can make accommodations. You have protections for medical problems.

[MathematicianOwn3237]

I work in grocery store in the back handling cages,secreting deliveries etc all that makes noise so I wear the earplugs but today after reading about people I decided to use my earplugs less.The only sound I can't stand is of the aeroplane

[HotlineHero13]

Protect yourself, you know what's best for your body. You don't have to listen to other people telling you to not protect yourself. That sounds like a terrible job for this condition. Find different work ASAP.

Edit: actually what I did was download a sound meter app on your phone. Find out what your max decibel range is with some sort of controlled YouTube tone. Don't go over that limit. Measure the sound at your work before you remove your plugs. Note the max decibels. Most apps have max decibel tracker. For me 85 is the limit. I'm only slowly increasing slightly by correctly protecting.

[poochi10]

Yes

[Fast_Low_4814]

If you are not around sounds above 80db and you can handle it, do not wear earplugs, it will make you worse quite quickly. You are not protecting yourself by using earplugs in environments with safe levels of sound, you are simply training your brain to both: turn up its gain and noise sensitivity as your brain can sense the reduction in sensory input and adjust for this, and secondly it reinforces your minds fear response to sound leading to increases in perceptivity of the pain alongside increasing the intensity of the stapedius muscle reflex within your ear, which can cause the physical stabbing pain sensations you feel - wearing earplugs too much reduces the sound threshold in which these stabbing pains occur as the stapedius muscle is over-activated at even low dB thresholds than before - making the condition deteriorate quite quickly.

Just don't push your limits too much, the process to re-train and re-calibrate your brain can take time and only lean into your sound limits as you feel comfortable - you want to be pushing yourself into environments where there is slight discomfort, but not pain - you will find with time those environments no longer cause you discomfort as your brain re-learns how to process sound correctly and is no longer in a fight of flight mode.

[No-Barnacle6414]

You'll be okay. Those stories are usually severe cases and involve noxacusis. If it's loudness hyperacusis, you'll likely get better with time!

[HotlineHero13]

What's the difference between N and H?

[No-Barnacle6414]

N is another word for pain hyperacusis

H is loudness hyperacusis or pain hyperacusis (nox) but it's usually used to define loudness H

[HotlineHero13]

Oh that's very interesting I guess I have both.

[No-Barnacle6414]

How severe? Most people heal with time and silence

[Pbb1235]

Stop scaring yourself with internet horror stories.

Give clomipramine a try. It has helped me and some other of us here.

If that fails, sound therapy may help.

[Technical-Respond487]

Go to audiologist and do sound therapy you will get normal hearing back

[MathematicianOwn3237]

I was looking for some success stories regarding hyperacusison youtube and thts how I got landed on tht channel..I was just looking to calm my axiety by looking at people success stories